The Absolution Of William Scully
by thisisyourcaptainwriting
Summary: This story explores what it might be like for William to reappear in Mulder and Scully's life. This story includes William, his search for his parents, a brilliant 16 year old hacker, a little boy with questionable origins, and of course a little bit of conspiracy and aliens, bit of romance too, in the true style of the X-Files. Reunions now included. Set in 2017: William is 16.
1. Chapter 1: The File

"Van De Kamp? If you could maybe try putting your pen on your paper." Dr Hawley drawled from where he sat behind his desk at the front a Math classroom full of 10th grade boys, some of whom looked up inquisitively to glance at their fellow student as his name was mentioned.

William Alexander Van De Kamp eyes flickered, light through the clouds of the steely blue of a sky before a storm, as he directed his attention from his daydreams to his exasperated teacher. He brought the end of his pen away from his bottom lip, where it had been resting.

"Yes Sir," The fifteen year-old mumbled, the muscles in his square jaw twitching, as he leaned over his work begrudgingly.

There was a sudden rap on the door. The class looked up expectantly.

"Enter." Dr Hawley said without looking up, bent over the paperwork on his desk.

A wide-eyed 9th grader entered the room, clutching a blue slip, "William Van De Kamp to see Principal Ridley immediately."

William's eyebrows twitched a little in confusion.

Dr Hawley regarded William, meeting the boy's eyes, sighing he said, "Off you go then Son, don't keep him waiting."

William nodded and collected his books. He stuffed them in his satchel, slinging it over his shoulder and straightening the blue blazer of his uniform. Rushing past the 9th grader he took the blue slip. He made sure to center his striped maroon tie and checked his pale blue shirt was tucked properly into his chino pants. He strode uncertainly through the traditionally decorated wood and carpet hallways of Emmanuel Prep.

What the heck could this be about? He hadn't done anything to merit this as far as he could remember. He'd been the good boy they wanted him to be, obedient, punctual, presentable.

Reaching the door of the Principal's office, his secretary gave the boy a small smile and told him "You can go straight in."

William puffed out his chest a little to give off a slight air of confidence before knocking and entering. He was greeted by the sight of the greying Principal Ridley waiting for him in his armchair on the other side of large dark wood desk. The room to William was always a little reminiscent of the Oval Office, bar the absence of the US emblem on the carpet.

"Mr Van De Kamp," The 60-something year-old held out his hand.

William walked over to grip it firmly, "Sir."

"Take a seat please." Ridley gestured to the two smaller armchairs opposite him on the other side of the stately desk.

William settled in one and ran a nervous hand through his dark copper hair, the once rugged locks cut into a casual short back and sides style to blend in at the elite school full of politician's sons and rich geniuses.

"How are you Van De Kamp? How's school?" Ridley folded his hands in front of himself on the desk, smiling falsely.

William frowned, "I think you know better than me, Sir. You have my report open on your computer."

"How'd you know that?" Ridley exclaimed, the smile dissolving as he glanced at the screen of his computer.

Professor Gerald Ridley was a good enough man as far as William could tell. He wanted what was best for 'his boys', but the man was notoriously pushy and competitive, not to mention ruthless, but to be in his position of power, William guessed he had had to be.

William gestured to the glass trophy cabinet behind Ridley, "I could see it reflected in the glass, Sir," he stated.

A light flashed in Ridley's eyes. "Observant, I like that." This time when he smiled it was small and seemed genuine.

'_smart boy, could be great, leader, professor,' _William winced at the sharp voice in his mind, losing his focus on the principal as he endured the blunt knife being dragged across his mind. His shoulders tensed.

Ridley noticed the student's body language, "You okay, Van De Kamp?"

William blinked, "Yes, I have a small headache. It'll pass," he lied. It never passed. Not really. He was never left in peace.

"You know why you're in here?" Ridley asked.

"No, Sir."

"Well, William, I am very aware of your achievements. Your grades are exemplary. You've helped win numerous competitions for the school, both academically and athletically. Your attendance record is untarnished. There is also a list of extracurricular activities I won't delve too much into." Ridley listed off accomplishments one by one, and William wondered where he was going with all of this.

"But? Sir?" William prompted, eager to know what the problem was already.

"But, it's the social aspect of your school life your teachers and I worry about. You spend your time… isolated."

William pursed his lips.

"I believe Dr Anderson spoke to you on the matter two months ago. Good social skills are beyond important to potential employers and essential in business."

"But, Sir," William interjected, "I have no interest in business. I want to be a geneticist. I want to go to Harvard."

"Don't interrupt Van De Kamp!" Ridley slammed his hand down. Quickly composing himself he leant back and continued, "It doesn't matter, it's still very important in university interviews. Connections and relationships are important; any ladder is easier to climb if you have someone stopping you from falling."

"Yes, Sir," William muttered, clenching his teeth so as to try not to betray emotion.

"I know life hasn't been kind to you William, but you're in a good place now. You have a very bright future ahead of you if you heed my words."

"You read my personal file, Sir?" William asked rhetorically.

"The death of your parents must have been truly traumatic, especially with how they died. Then your foster mother passed away, Mrs Stacy, was it? Such a sad story." The principal said slightly insensitively.

William remembered Lillian and Rob Stacy well. He'd stayed with them for almost a year, longer than he did most.

After the fire that had killed his adoptive parents he'd been put into care. There'd been talk that he might be adopted again if the agency worked fast, but no one wanted a mute, distrusting, emotionally damaged two year old. William had house jumped, from foster carer to foster carer for years, secretly loving almost every single one only to have to let them go after a few months. He was 10 when the Stacy's took him in. They were nothing special really. They were in their forties with a grown daughter and had treated him well, maybe even like their own. William got his hopes up that they would adopt him, but then there was the incident, and he'd ended up in St Paul's home for boys, New Jersey. William had long since given up on the idea of finding a new family. Maybe he'd never been meant to have one.

"They weren't my parents," William said quietly, blinking rapidly to banish a tear.

"Hm?" Ridley frowned.

"Mr and Mrs Van De Kamp took me in when I was 11 months old and then died just over a year later; I don't know who my parents are. I have the Van De Kamp's name, Sir, but that's it." William paused, knowing the Principal was wondering how he knew all the details, "I read my file too."

It was quite ironic really if you added the months of pregnancy with his age when adopted, you came to a year and eight months, the longest he'd ever been with a family was a year and three. So, it seemed the people who seemingly hadn't wanted him had had him the longest. But, then again, there was the question that had come to haunt William more and more 'if his parent's hadn't wanted him, why had they kept him so many months after his birth?"

"I'm sorry, William. Just think about what I've said." Ridley offered sincerely.

"Yes." William made to stand saying, "If I may, Sir, I don't believe I got called to see you directly just because of this."

Ridley let out a breath and clenched his fists, "I wanted to tell you in person that I have contacted your lead carer at St Paul's and recommended that your therapy sessions be increased." William died a little inside; there was nothing he hated more than someone prodding at his thoughts as though a hunter poking a bear, seeing how far they could go without it pouncing.

"Okay, Sir," William scowled and left the office. He closed the door behind himself just as the bell rang for the end of the day.

It took him a 10 minute wait and two buses to get back to St Paul's Orphanage. A state run charity for boys aged 9 to 18, it provided an alternative to boys who were less suited to the foster care system and had an onsite child psychologist, Dr Rhodes, and the therapist Principal Ridley had mentioned, Dr Patel.

"Will!" A skinny, red-haired, 10 year old tackled William as he entered St Paul's, closely followed by a sleepy but excitable golden retriever.

"Noah!" William laughed, grabbing the younger boy with a grunt as he tried to escape and lifted him off his feet. Noah giggled. The dog barked insistently, "Hey to you too Captain." Will grinned at the dog, and reached out a hand, still gripping Noah to his chest with the other, to pat Captain on the head.

A couple of other boys smiled at the scene as they wandered past.

Noah Macy was a smiley ten year old born in Maine to an unprepared 17 year old mother who'd tried to raise him alone. She's eventually accepted defeat when Noah was four, having already lessened his chances of being adopted by keeping him as long as she did he was never adopted, and not unlike William had jumped from home to home until being placed at St Paul's where he could get help for his ADHD and Insomnia.

He was so sweet a kid. When William had first met him he hadn't believed a family hadn't wanted him; he was adorable with slightly curly red locks, wide bright blue eyes, and a goofy smile that could melt hearts. Noah reminded William a lot of himself, a kid who had no family simply because their brains weren't quite bog standard. He even looked like a miniature version of him. Anyone who saw them together would be likely to jump to the conclusion they were brothers.

William placed Noah back on the carpet and placed a hand atop his curls, "Don't suppose you've seen Micah, have you?"

"Court." Noah told him, lifting an arm to point in the direction of the basketball court.

Micah was possibly William's best friend; their relationship was based purely on understanding and their general dislike for the human race.

Micah understood what it was like to be given up, passed along time after time like a parcel that can never seem to find its destination.

Micah Valentino Ezra Ramos had been born in central San Diego. Given up for adoption as a small baby he had a heart condition that had him flown across to the other side of the country for treatment. The condition left him with almost no adoption prospects being that he was in and out of hospital for years after his birth, and possible adoptive parents aren't really keen on adopting the mortally ill.

Micah had found his birth parents a year ago, his mother in a San Diego cemetery and his father in an apartment in Santa Maria, all after months of searching beginning just after his sixteenth birthday. Micah's father, Javier Ramos, was married with three boys. While being a nice enough man, he'd had no real interest in getting to know the product of a mistake he'd made over seventeen years ago. Micah had spoken to him a couple of times during his visit to California, but he knew there was no future, no real family, there. He'd come home bitterly disappointed.

"Mick!" William called out cheerily, half skidding, half running down the gravel path to the basketball court.

The Hispanic seventeen year old spun to look at his friend, disregarding the basketball he'd just chucked at the hoop. He had dark eyes the colour of a mahogany under profound ink black brows that matched his shaggy hair. The young man was all straight edges, lanky with bony knees and elbows and prominent cheekbones.

William didn't quite have the same build. He was just as tall as Micah, if not taller, but a little broader, with a strong back and squarer shoulders.

"Will, what's up?" Micah said, jogging over to scoop up the ball before turning to walk toward William.

"Not much," William paused, "I just need to talk to you, about the thing we talked about before."

The atmosphere went a little colder.

Micah sighed, "Don't bother, Will. Trust me. You'll only end up disappointed, I mean, they gave us up for a reason, Dude."

"That's why. I have to know why, Mick!" William yelled, then immediately regretted shouting at his friend, "Sorry."

Micah turned the ball with his fingertips, deliberating, slowly he looked up. "Okay Van De Kamp, but you owe me."

"Yeah?" William smirked at Micah.

"Sixteen tomorrow, Man," Micah said, tucking the ball under his arm so he could slap William on the back. "You'll be eligible to apply to find them without consent from the state, but I might have an alternative..."

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"Happy Birthday, Poopbrain!" A shrill giggle woke William, and he could hear the squeak of the mattress springs as a mischievous ten year old bounced on the end of his bed, bouncing William's body with it.

William shot up, growling playfully to grab the little boy who squealed and yelped. William was suddenly overcome with affection for Noah, the mini him dressed in Spiderman pyjamas and wiggling in his arms, he clutched him tight to his chest. He decided he may not have that American apple pie family, but he had a little brother, of sorts anyway.

"You're a pain in the ass, Noah, you know that?" William grumbled affectionately as he placed his chin on the wriggling boy's shoulder.

Noah yelled, "You said ass! You said ass, Will!"

"I'm 16 now I can say ass if I want!"

William let Noah go, propped up his pillows and leant back on them. Noah leant back against him, placing his head against William's shoulder trustingly.

"I got you a present." Noah smiled up at him, holding out a rectangular parcel wrapped in pages from an old comic book.

"Wolverine, huh? What did he do to end up being used as wrapping paper?"

"Joey stole some pages, I couldn't read it anymore." Noah explained, referring to his eleven year old roommate from Philadelphia. Just one of the charms of living in a home of 20 adolescent boys was getting anything and everything 'borrowed'.

"Sorry Wolverine," William muttered as he tore open the present. When he saw what was inside his stomach somersaulted. Drawing out a picture frame from beneath the folds of paper; it was dark wood with a foreign language engraved on it. The photo in the center had been taken a month ago. He and Noah were sat on the beach in wetsuits, sprinkled head to toe in sand, the glaring sun shining brightly to the right. They were sporting identical smirks as they sat on a surfboard. William had his arm tightly round Noah's shoulders as he held the ten year old to his side.

Noah pointed at the engraving, "It means 'brothers' in Latin. Sorry it's not a very exciting present. I heard you might be leaving, so… I wanted you to have something so you don't forget me." Noah's head lolled a little.

William blinked away a tear, "Come here." He pulled Noah in for a hug, the boy's head resting in the crook of his neck. "You're my favourite person, okay, and we'll always be brothers, no matter where we are."

A tear fell on Noah's neck. "Are you crying?" he asked.

William laughed. "Real men cry, okay," He sniffed, "And only a little."

There was knock on the door as Noah pulled away, and a whispered voice sounded through the wood, "Will, I got it. I got it, Dude."

William placed the photo frame on his nightstand. "Come on in, Micah." William answered, getting up to meet his best friend as he entered, closing the door behind him.

Noah crawled to the end of the bed and knelt up on his knees so he could get a closer look at what Micah was holding.

It was a light brown file with 'private' stamped across it and 'William Alexander Van De Kamp' written neatly in a box in the right top corner. It was his personal file.

"I've…," William frowned, looking up at his friend, "I've already read this."

"No you haven't" Micah shook his head, tapping the file. "This copy is from Dr Patel's office safe, there's stuff that wasn't scanned into the computer you hacked into. They've only got one or two hard copies of the papers. One is in a government office somewhere; the other is, of course, in the hands of your therapist."

"You broke into his safe?" William exclaimed, eyes widening, opening the file and turning round to place it on his desk.

"Yeah, last night, I got bored. Consider it your birthday present." Micah shrugged. He sat down next to Noah and ruffled the kid's hair. "Morning, Noah."

William sifted through the papers, putting the one's he'd seen to one side. His adoption papers, test results, list of vaccinations, hospital bills, school records. Then he began to get to the stuff he hadn't seen; therapist notes, foster reports (his foster parents had been reporting on him? He didn't know they did that.), …his birth certificate. His hands were shaking, his stomach was like rock, weighing him down, and honestly he thought he was going to throw up. His eyes trailed down the paper. He was sweating as he read.

'_State of Georgia, record of live birth.'_

'_Child's name (First, last, suffix): William, Scully. _

'_Date of birth: May 16__th__ 2001.'_

'_Child's birthplace: Democrat Hot Springs, Georgia.'_

'_Sex: Male.'_

'_Mother's name:_' William forgot to breathe. _'Dana Kathrine Scully.'_ He didn't even try to hold back the tears this time.'

'_Mother's birthplace: Annapolis, Maryland.'_

'_Mother's date of birth: 23__rd__ of February 1964. Age: 37.' _

'_Father's name:'_ He blinked, _'Undisclosed.'_

"No," William muttered.

'_Father's birthplace: Undisclosed. _

'_Father's date of birth: Undisclosed. _

'_Father's age: Undisclosed.'_

"What is it, Will?" Micah murmured.

"Scully." William liked it, it was simple, strong, no fuss so muss, and his.

"What?" Noah scrunched up his nose, confused.

"My name is William Scully. I'm from Georgia apparently, seems like I've been all over." He turned to face them, his eyes bloodshot, hands shaking.

"And… your parents?" Micah prompted.

"My mother, she's a woman named 'Dana Scully'." William smiled weakly, "I don't know about my dad."

"What do you mean?" Micah was shocked, moving to get a closer look, "What does it mean by 'undisclosed'?"

"It basically means they know but they don't want to put it on paper," William said bitterly, grinding his teeth.

"Well, you can still find your mom!" Noah chirped, "And she'll know who he is."

William lifted his gaze to meet Noah's hopeful one, "Yeah, I just… it doesn't make sense."

"Dude, this was in Dr Patel's 'safe'." Micah emphasised, "Who the hell is your dad that they can't even put him on this version of the certificate?" He continued to stare at the document in bewilderment.

William ignored Micah's last statement and continued to work through the file. He found next a set of blood test results labelled _'confidential'_, squinting he read the conclusive statement written by a doctor at the foot of the page _'14% abnormal DNA detected. Origin: Known. Subordinate abnormal DNA suggests post-insemination inter-uterine osmosis and known mutated ova, as opposed to insemination pertaining to abnormal DNA. Child valid: DNA acquired. Distant contact surveillance required, time period: Indefinite.'_

William struggled to understand it all, and apparently Micah did even more so, saying bluntly, "I don't understand a word of that."

"I think…" William hummed thoughtfully, "I think it's saying that my DNA is different in some way. That my mother's eggs were somehow mutated, that my DNA it mutated while I was a foetus and wasn't anything to do with my father's DNA. That they took samples of my DNA for some reason too."

"But you're okay," Noah said from his spot on the bed. "Aren't you?"

"I think so. I… I don't know," William answered truthfully. If there was something different with his DNA it might explain a lot. The strange way his brain worked.

"What about that last bit?" Micah pointed to the bottom of the sheet.

"'Distant contact surveillance required, time period: Indefinite.'" William read aloud.

"What does it mean, Will?"

"It means they've been watching me. I need to get out of here. I have some big questions for my mother." William decided in the heat of the moment, dropping the file on his desk and charging over to his closet and pulling out a large black backpack.

"You're crazy! What are you going to do, run away?"

William turned to glare at Micah, "That's exactly what I'm doing."

"You're coming back though!" Noah panicked.

"Course, I'll send you a postcard." William smirked nervously.

"Hold on," Micah sighed, flipped open the laptop on the desk and sat down in front of it, typing 'Dana Scully' into the search engine."

He clicked the first web link to pop up. It was a news site for Washington DC, with an article titled, _'Doctor Saves Terminal 4__th__ grader!'_ that went on to read, _'Doctor Scully of Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital, Arlington...' _

Micah snickered, throwing his friend, an aspiring geneticist, a sideways glance, "She's a brain surgeon, I should've known."

William continued to pack frantically, "Where is she?"

"St Tomas Street, Arlington, DC. Right down the block from Arlington Hall station. You should be able to get there in six hours easily." William nodded and quickly pulled on some jeans and a blue button-down shirt.

Noah took the frame he'd given William from the nightstand and placed it on top of his packed belongings. He caught William's eye.

"I'll see you soon." William placed a hand on Noah's head, as the younger boy threw his arms around him, almost like a blessing.

"Good luck," Noah said quietly, his voice muffled by the fabric of William's shirt.

"What do I tell everyone? They'll know you're gone by six pm at most, probably earlier." Micah was standing now, arms crossed.

"Mick." William clasped his friend on the shoulder and breathed out heavily, "Tell them… I went out."

"Yeah." Micah rolled his eyes. "I guess, good luck then, Scully," he said reluctantly, winking.

William reached over to collect the file from his desk, tucking it into one of the pockets of his bag he gave his room one last cursory look over. He noticed Noah was pouting a little.

William knelt down in beside the bed to face him, "'No matter where we are, remember?'" Noah nodded solemnly.

William swung his bag onto his back, grabbed his black jacket from the back of his desk chair and strode out the room before he could change his mind. He kept a steady pace right up until he was on the train to Washington.

**To be honest I'm not sure people even still read X-files fics, so it you want this story to continue could you please review so I know if there's enough interest. **


	2. Chapter 2: The Medal of Honour

**Listening to 'The Mother We Share' by CHVRCHS**

William stared out the train window dozily, barely paying attention to the music sounding from his ear buds. He didn't even notice when they pulled into a station just West of Philadelphia.

What was he going to do when he got to DC anyway? Turn up at his mother's workplace? He didn't want to follow her home. That just seemed creepy.

Then someone tapped on his shoulder insistently, "Hey!"

William jumped.

He scrambled to remove his ear buds and face the stranger. His heart leapt into his throat, overcome by the fear it would be someone who was going to drag his sorry butt back to St Paul's.

Instead what he saw were two deep rich earth brown eyes framed with dark eyeliner staring right back at him. She was about his age he guessed, though she was fairly small, maybe 5,5, and petite too. She was wearing a patterned navy and lilac skirt, black tights, plain top and dark denim jacket. A demure silver necklace in the shape of some strange cross hung from her neck. Her hair framed her face in maple-syrup colour, messy waves that curled at the ends. She said something.

"Sor… sorry?" He stuttered, confused. What on earth did she want?

She regarded him inquisitively, cocking her head. "Can I sit down?" The girl gestured to the seat next to him, currently occupied by his bulging backpack.

"Oh, sure! Sorry." William fumbled to remove the bag, a little skittish from the fright this stranger had given him.

"That's okay." She smiled politely, "You know they have baggage areas, right?" The girl said pointing to the baggage compartments situated above their heads.

"I prefer to keep it where I can see it." William shrugged; he wasn't good with social situations usually, and talking to girls… that was a whole other deal. He went to an all-boys school and lived in an all-boys orphanage. Girls were beautiful, foreign and rare beings.

She grabbed her own bag, a large military issue backpack with the name '_PARKER_' embroided in capitals on the stained khaki canvas fabric that definitely didn't fit with her flirty and cute style thing she had going on. The girl grunted involuntarily as she tried to lift the obviously heavy bag far enough to cram it in the compartment. She pursed her lips in frustration, her freckle adorned nose scrunched up.

William couldn't just sit and watch it. "Here, let me help." He said, puffing out his cheeks and getting up, he reached out and lifted the bag up and into the baggage area with one arm as if it were no heavier than a feather. He wasn't showing off, in fact he normally tried to act like he was weaker than he was, but he was emotionally exhausted and distracted.

The girl brought her gaze up to meet his, those eyes boring into him questioningly. Her lips were slightly parted in what seemed like a mix of awe and puzzlement.

William gulped, moving his gaze from hers, and sat back down. He knew he wasn't normal, he didn't need any reminders.

"You in training to be Captain America or something?" The girl raised an eyebrow as she sat beside him.

"No, blue and red aren't my colours." William joked dryly without a second thought; he regretted it as soon as he said it so confusion hit him as she sniggered, leaning back in her seat.

"I'm Felicity Parker by the way, well actually Felicity is my middle name… but no one calls me Penelope. I don't know why. Actually I know why but it's not the sort of thing you mention in casual conversation." The girl turned her head and held out her hand, smiling with genuine warmth.

"William…" He paused, "William Scully," he decided, taking her hand. She was nice, very talkative, which he liked in a person. It left little room for awkward silences. Maybe girls weren't so scary after all.

"So, where you headed William Scully?" It felt good to hear someone call him that.

"Washington." He told her, running a nervous hand through his hair; he never spoke to strangers, ever. Felicity Parker though, she seemed like one of those people that could make just about anyone their friend.

"Me too! Arlington Station." She grinned as she drew a chocolate bar out of her denim jacket, unwrapping it and biting off a square.

"Same." William observed her. His eyes drawn to the chocolate bar, damn it, he'd had a few he should have brought. His mouth watered.

Felicity obviously saw him looking; the side of her mouth drawing up and dimples appeared as she broke off a piece and held it out to him.

William shook his head violently as they exited central Philadelphia. "I'm okay."

"No, it's okay." Felicity held the piece out further insistently. "Take it before it melts."

William hesitated but then took it and popped the whole thing in his mouth. It was good chocolate, not that cardboard like stuff. It was creamy, melt-in-your mouth, wonderful chocolate. He hummed at the sensation.

"So, why you headed to DC?" She asked, taking another bite of the bar.

William thought quickly, "Visiting my Mom." He shrugged. Yes, that was the safest bet. It wasn't really lying either.

"Going to visit my brother, he's in the Air Corps." Felicity explained simply.

William nodded. "That explains the bag. I thought you were a little young to be in the military." He joked and examined her features, expecting her to smile, which she did, but there was something else there. Hidden and yet so plainly obvious, there it was, absolute irrevocable pain and grief.

Then William did something he'd never done before. He didn't know why but he did. He reached out, for so long he'd guarded his mind from the voices, but today was today. His name was Scully now, he was on an adventure, and this girl intrigued him. Felicity Parker, seemingly so open and friendly, and yet, there was something there. It was a hidden pain that she was masking so beautifully. He'd only just met the girl, but somehow he just knew.

William Scully let his curse run wild, gazing into the girl next to him, _'Got to find Jonah. They're lying. Jonah. Got to find him. What if they hurt him? What if he really is…? No. No.' _For a second he was in shock. It didn't hurt! When he initiated it, it didn't hurt. Listening to her hadn't hurt one little bit. Unfortunately, his peek inside her mind had left him with more questions than answers. He shouldn't have looked anyway, it was intrusive. He mentally scolded himself for being so insensitive.

Then he did something else he never did, he, a kid who'd grown up never having really felt loved, reached out to put a comforting hand on the shoulder of a perfect stranger, "Hey, it's okay." Felicity didn't shrug him off, just looked up to meet his eyes, looking into them as though he was an 1000 piece puzzle with half the pieces missing.

"How?"

"We've all got baggage." He said solemnly, squeezing Felicity's shoulder lightly.

Her eyes glinted once more, "Did you just make a pun?"

"Yes, I think so, sorry about that." William apologised and grinned at the floor. What the heck was wrong with him? He was the introverted, socially inept, sits-in-the-corner-and-avoids-all-physical-contact sort of guy. What was happening? Maybe this was good. Maybe this was meant to be. He was a new person. He was free, and it was the most beautiful feeling.

Just then a loud bang and a squeal rattled the carriage, the train came to a sudden halt. It took a second or two but William eventually came out of his initial shocked reaction and peered out the window. They were in the middle of nowhere. William growled and slammed a fist against the window.

Just then a train attendant came through the door at the front of the carriage. The attendant tried to smile though his teeth were gritted, "Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm afraid we're experiencing some minor difficulties with the engine. We'll be up and running as soon as possible. We apologise thoroughly for the delay."

Three hours, a cup of coffee and many long conversations later Felicity was sat with her legs crossed facing William as they talked.

"So what are you running away from?" Felicity asked casually.

"Sorry?"

"You have that sort of crazed 'I'm free and I have no idea what I'm doing' look in your eyes." She stated.

William was speechless for a second, then he realised something, "So do you." He muttered.

Felicity sighed, "I know. Want to know what I'm running from? My oblivious and judgmental parents."

William laughed, then quickly felt bad "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just a little ironic."

Felicity raised a brow.

"You're running away from your parents. I'm running to mine."

She gasped, pointing a finger at him with glee, "I knew it! Your trying to find your birth parents, aren't you? I thought so…"

"How did you?" William tried to interject.

Felicity continued to ramble, "That's so cool. It's like a movie plot! A really cliché movie but…"

"Felicity!" William exclaimed, gaining her attention, "How did you know I didn't know them?"

She licked her lips and turned her gaze to where his bag sat on the floor, "Top tip for running away from your orphanage. Don't take the bag with 'property of St. Paul's Orphanage' plastered across it."

William grabbed the backpack off the floor to examine the small white words on the dark fabric. How on earth had be not noticed that? How on earth had she?

"I'll take that into consideration next time I'm running away. I don't suppose you have a black pen?"

Felicity handed him a black sharpie from her satchel. William began to violently colour in the words.

After a minute of watching him coat the white with black Felicity spoke, "Did you hate it there?"

William stilled his hand for a second, looking up with a pained expression, "No. The boys there were like brothers to me. It was an all-boys Orphanage, so no sisters. It's funny actually. I think this is the longest conversation I've ever had with a girl, or anyone else for that matter."

"If you were so happy there…" Felicity tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously, "…why leave?"

William returned to colouring in the white, his eyes trained to what was left of the words, "Because I need to find the truth." He gritted his teeth as he scribbled out the final part of the final word. '_Orphan_' disappeared with a few marks of the pen.

The train came to life with rumble. The light's flickered, plunging him in and out of darkness.

The cheer of other passengers almost drowned her words, but William thought he heard Felicity softly murmur, "Me too."

* * *

The sun had gone down by the time their train got to DC. It was dimly lit and quiet in the station, with the light of the city shining through a vaulted glass ceiling. A few businessmen and women swiftly strode past William as he exited the train, swinging his bag over his shoulder. Their watches flashing as they checked the time. William wanted to go to the hospital immediately, mainly because he had no idea where else to go, but he had no idea if she'd be there either. He had so many burning question that he needed answered, however, it seemed like they'd have to wait.

It was small for a city station, with only four platforms, but a high ceiling. An information desk and taxi service desk were lined up to his right. A rack of pamphlets and leaflets were fixed to the brick wall to his left. Stairs leading up to the city lay in front of him. Why was he hesitating? Maybe he needed a minute to take it all in. The fact he'd done it. Run away from everything. This morning he'd been woken up by Noah in his bed at St. Paul's. Noah, he missed the little boy already.

William crossed his arms and pretended to be interested in the floor as a group of four boys walked past, intimidated as they laughed hard. One looked about William's age, the others maybe a year to two years older. They didn't look like trouble. They looked pretty average, but William still didn't want to draw attention to himself anyway.

"Hey!" One of them called out, still chuckling from something one of his friends had said. William tensed before he realised they weren't talking to him. He turned to look where the boys were looking to see Felicity over by the rack full of leaflets, giving them the dirtiest scowl, her mouth closed. An attitude very different to the one he'd she'd shown him.

"You need some help, Sweetheart?" The boy who had called out to her before asked, gesturing to the map of Arlington she was holding, smiling in a manner that made William's jaw tighten in fear and anger.

"I'm fine, thank you." Felicity said, folding her arms over her chest defensively and concentrating her gaze on the map in her hand.

"Come on, Dude." The oldest of the boys suggested, "Leave her alone, let's go."

The boy ignored his friend and continued, placing a hand on Felicity's shoulder in a way that made William feel nauseous, "Come on I'm just trying to be helpful."

Felicity ignored him, clenching her teeth. She shrugged her shoulder but still the guy kept his hand on her. Something akin to rage seared behind her dark eyes.

"Okay!" William had decided staying out of it wasn't an option as soon as the boy had put his hand on her. He strode up to stand behind Felicity and stare the guy down. "How about you just move on now, okay?"

"Why?" The guy huffed. At least he removed his hand from Felicity's shoulder. William noticed her left out a small sigh of relief. "You her boyfriend or something?" The guy said, glowering at William.

William opened his mouth to say something, nothing came out. As it turns out, it didn't matter, because Felicity got their first.

"Why would that matter? What are you saying? That it's okay to hit on me as long as another guy doesn't claim me?" She burst out, eyes burning with fury. "I'm not anyone's, that doesn't mean I want some pervert trying to flirt with me in a train station at nine at night when I'm obviously not interested!"

The guy backed off. "Sorry," He mumbled unconvincingly. His friends stood awkwardly behind him, hands in their pockets.

"Come on, Man." One of them tugged on the guy's jacket, pulling him away.

When they were gone, William gulped, "That was… wow." He didn't know what to say.

"I never usually lose my temper like that." Felicity muttered.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." William went to place a friendly hand on her shoulder, and then thought better of it. Drawing his hand back stiffly, he sent her a small smile. "Bye, Felicity."

"Goodbye, William. Good luck with the whole parent search thing."

He turned to walk away, checking his money, all 20 dollars of it. Mulling over what he planned to do next. Where was he going to get a room for 20 dollars.

"Wait William, where are you planning to stay?"

He turned back but stayed silent, opening and closing his mouth, not wanting to admit he had absolutely no idea.

"It's just…," Felicity tucked her hair behind her ear nervously, not sure where to put her hand afterward she crossed and uncrossed her arms before sticking her hands firmly in her pockets. "This going to sound strange." She stated, "Um… I was wondering if you could do me a favour. Just… where you're staying. Could I stay with you?" She tensed, squeezing her eyes shut, as if she realised how that sounded, sucking in a breath. "There! Could I stay there? Not with you. I don't mean… That's what I mean. On the floor or something. I didn't expect to have to find a room for the night. Not that I had enough savings anyway."

"Um…" William's brow furrowed.

"Sorry. Don't feel bad about turning me way. I just thought I'd ask." Felicity began to walk away.

He'd just met her. Even if they had spent the whole afternoon talking, he didn't actually know her. He shouldn't trust her. The thing is… he did.

"Felicity." He caught her arm as she walked past him toward the exit. "It's not that I won't help you. I can't." His eyes flickered around. Speaking softly he said, "I don't have anywhere to go either. I thought you'd be staying with your brother anyway?"

She looked away, blinking rapidly, absentmindedly fingering a medal pinned to the strap of her large backpack, her brother's backpack. William recognised it instantly, it was the Medal of Honour. A five pronged star with the image of the statue of liberty at it's center, hanging from a light blue ribbon.

William stared at the cold metal plate, "Oh, Felicity. I didn't realise when you said you were visiting…" How hadn't he guessed that, with the grief in her eyes, and the location? Arlington National Cemetery was where many of those who died in action were buried, unless the family of the deceased opted for a different plot.

There were tears in her eyes, but she kept a straight face, "His Sergeant came to our door a few months back. The second Jonah died I didn't feel a thing. I just kept going on with my life. He was my big brother, how didn't I know?"

"I'm sorry..." William felt helpless watching Felicity silently cry in front of him.

"He's not dead. They told me he died but…" Her eyes brimmed not only with tears but fierce determination.

William was perplexed. "Why would they lie?"

"I don't know why. I just know they did. I hacked into their server, and he wasn't even on deployment at the time he died, but we were told he died in action. How is that possible?" Felicity looked into his eyes; searching for some sign he didn't think she was crazy.

"You hacked into the US Military Secure Server?" William said softly, gazing at Felicity in slight awe.

"It's um… a hobby." She concluded shortly. "I'll help you find your parent's. If we put our money together we might have enough for a room for the night. But, you have to help me find Jonah."

"You trust me that much?" William breathed.

"I have to. Your all I've got."

"Then, it's Deal; I'd feel better sticking with you." William admitted, immediately wishing he'd held his tongue. Had that sounded creepy?

Felicity took the statement the wrong way, "I don't need looking after. I can look after myself just fine." She said firmly, roughly wiping a tear off her chin.

"I noticed." William gulped, reeling back a little. He hadn't meant to make her angry, "Sorry. I meant… I'm not much of a talker usually. I used to like silence. I couldn't really form any sort of relationship with anyone, because I was always leaving them behind, and even though I've never minded being left alone. That doesn't mean I like being lonely, and let's face it Felicity, we've both run away and left everyone and everything. Right now, you're all I've got, and I'm all you've got." William cringed, "Why did I just tell you all of that?" He gritted his teeth. "And I don't even know where you're from, or your age, or anything really. This is crazy."

"I think that's the longest you've spoken this entire time." He froze as Felicity wrapped her arms around him. She felt small in his arms, fragile, even though he knew first hand she could hardly be called that. "West Chester, Philadelphia, and I turned 16 a month ago" she murmured. He placed his hands on her back gently, unsure and shaking a little.

"I've heard it's nice there, West Chester." William acknowledged as she pulled away.

"You?"

They began to walk up the steps into the city.

"It's my sixteenth birthday today actually. And uh... Originally? I was born in Georgia. Then I lived in Wyoming with my adoptive parents. Then Utah, twice. Nevada. I was in California for several years, moving everywhere from Fresno to Los Angeles. Then I was sent to New Jersey to the Orphanage. But this…" William gestured to the city, breathing in the air, "This is where I'm meant to be, this where I lived first. Where my mother is, where she was born, maybe my father too. This is my home now."

"Well," Felicity exhaled, "Happy Birthday William."

**I thought it would be cool for William to have a companion on his journey. She was going to be called Corey but I promised a friend I'd name a character after them. You'll see. But she's not just a wall for him to bounce conversation off; she has her own story too. Otherwise she'd be boring. This story's gonna heat up. I intend for William to meet parent number 1 next chapter (Just wondering… who do you want to meet William first? Scully or Mulder?). **


	3. Chapter 3: The Backpack

**Here... We… Go…**

William huffed and turned over, still reluctant to wake, burying his face in the scratchy pillow. Something smelled great, like freshly baked pastries, no wait… pancakes? He lifted his head off the pillow and spotted in the dim light a napkin on the cheap wooden nightstand, neatly piled on top were two perfect looking chocolate chip pancakes. Placed beside them was a cup of steaming liquid. Smiling, he sat up; swinging his legs over the edge of the creaking bed he noticed there was no fork and so picked up the pancakes with his fingers. Licking the chocolate off them as he went, he quickly polished off his breakfast and sipped the cup of what he had now identified as tea.

He looked over to the other bed by the window. Dust dancing in the beams of light that filtered through the blinds. There was still no sign of Felicity. She wasn't in the bathroom, though she'd clearly already been in there; the door to it was open and there was still condensation on the glass of the shower. Her bed was made. All her things were neatly packed in her backpack and tucked under the bed.

William had been surprised he'd slept so well. Sleeping in the same room as a stranger you'd met only that day was not usually a comforting thought. But she hadn't slit his throat while he slept, which was a good start. In fact, she'd left him a warm breakfast. She was almost too good to be true, but at the same time, that was it, she was so… true. She hadn't lied to him yet. She'd mislead him when she'd mentioned her brother, but it's not like it was malicious. She'd just been scared and hurting.

Felicity had taken a huge risk, a much bigger risk than he, by suggesting they put their money together. He could easily over-power her that much was obvious. William could have been a complete creep, but she'd trusted him. That was a stupid move without a doubt, he could have been a murderer, but it's not like either of them had had much of a choice. It was share a room or spend a night on the streets. It was stupid, yes, but William also kind of admired her bravery.

William hadn't realised until yesterday that most Motels wouldn't rent to underage people. They'd been lucky to find a hostel for under 18's, though they had got some judgmental looks when they'd checked in. And although they'd found a place to stay, they'd had to walk 17 blocks to get there. By the time they'd got the room William had been exhausted. He'd been all for collapsing straight into the sheets still in his clothes.

He hadn't been blind to the fact Felicity was a girl either. They'd silently agreed that she'd change in the bathroom. The lights had been off when she'd walked back through to get into her bed, that hadn't stopped William's breath hitching. He'd rolled over and tried to think about different things, without much luck. He'd thought about girls a lot before, but more as a concept, a distant reality. Sure, he'd interacted with… women, but they'd been carers, foster mothers and doctors. They'd been older, mother-like figures.

There had been one girl, when he was ten. He'd been living with the Stacy's and their neighbors had a daughter who was in his class at school. Cassie Seldon was her name. They were at a barbecue, playing in the undergrowth behind the Stacy's house. That was his first kiss. His only kiss actually. He didn't really remember it all that well, it had been nice, he guessed, not a bad first. He'd spent the rest of the day pursing his lips, convinced he could feel Cassie's on them. Then everything went wrong, he had watched her bedroom window as social services took him away. He could still remember the details, complete with red polka dot curtains and a rag doll sat on the windowsill. He hadn't been in love with her or anything, he'd been ten. He wasn't even sure anymore if he'd even liked the girl that much, but it had made him feel normal. It made him feel like just maybe, he had to potential to be loved… someday.

William sighed, rubbing away sleep from his eyes, he could still hear Cassie's giggle, the one she'd made as he pushed her in the pool that day. He could still recall the smell of the burgers cooking, and his foster father, Rob Stacy, laughing heartily as he talked with his friends around the barbecue, and his foster mother, Lillian, fussing over the little ones, applying a Band-Aid to the knee of one little boy who'd fell out a tree. He'd been so happy that day. Then that night… It'd been the night he'd blown it again. Literally.

William lifted himself off the mattress, chucking the balled up, chocolate stained napkin in the waste bin. He tugged his backpack out from under his bed and unzipped it. He drew out a clean pair of boxer shorts and a change of clothes, before pulling his pyjama top over his head to reveal bare skin.

The door creaked and slammed as Felicity entered. She froze for a short second, and then threw a hand over her eyes, "God! Sorry William!"

William forced out a laugh, feeling a little insecure. "No worries. Not much to see anyway." He bit his lip. Why on earth did he say that? William quickly slotted his arms through a maroon shirt and buttoned it up.

"When did you wake up?" Her cheeks were a little flushed, whether from embarrassment or something else, matching the light pink of her shirt. She sat on a rickety chair in the corner and began to remove strong black boots from her feet, then seemingly decided to keep them on. She straightened the bottoms of her beige trousers where they were crinkled instead. William was a little saddened that she wasn't wearing a skirt, she suited them, but he said nothing.

"Breakfast was still hot, if that's what you're wondering." William grinned down at her where she was sat. "It was great, thank you." He tilted his head. "Where did you get it?"

"Place across the street." Felicity was smiling contentedly, but not at him. Her shoulders seemed relaxed, more so than before. There was a certain easiness about her mood this morning, and it made William a little curious.

William nodded, before stuttering, "So… Where'd you go after?"

Felicity looked up at him slowly, the gold flecks in her dark eyes glinting in the morning sun, as she regarded him a second, she said, "Do you really need to know?" Her hair was pulled into a plait, highlighting the different tones in her hair. He almost didn't hear her.

William blew out his cheeks, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh, you don't have to tell me. I just wondered. If you don't want to, you don't." She continued to stare softly, "That's okay. I just… if you did. I could… I said I would help. So, you know, you can. You may not! I don't really care." He squeezed his eyes shut. That went well.

"You don't care?" Felicity's eyes narrowed questioningly.

William really wasn't so good with the whole social interaction thing. He realised that today this was going to get shown off in all its glory. He choked a little, "Oh! That's not what I. I care. I mean I care if you. Because, you know, we're together. Well uh not together. That's not how. I know. But we are friends. No! Wait, partners! …uh allies? So, if you are, I care, because you and I are helping …each other. Right?" He sucked in a strained breath, his back warm, his breathing quickened.

"William! It's okay I'm just pulling your leg, sorry..." Felicity, standing now, was looking at him with wide eyes, "I've never been on the receiving end before… that was fascinating!"

"Oh God," William gasped, this is why he avoided human contact. He collapsed onto his bed, the mattress springs squeaking in protest.

"I'm sorry," Felicity said, and she did look genuinely apologetic. Her arms were folded awkwardly, and lips were set in a tight pink line.

William rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands, gripping his hair with his fingers. "I'm sorry too. Like I said, I'm not much of a talker. When I do talk… yeah, it's just better if I don't."

Felicity sat down next to him on the bed, placing a hand on his knee, "I was at the bank by the way. Emptying my savings account, so all my money's in cash now, and oh God please don't take that as an invitation to mug me."

William relaxed a little, sending her a smirk, "I have no intention of hurting you, Felicity."

"Good. That's always good." She had her gaze fixed on the ground.

"Actually, Felicity, I have to ask. It's killing me. I mean, I could be a murderer or something. Why do you want my help? Either you're desperate or you actually trust me, and I was wondering which one it was exactly?"

"Kind of both, I think. You have one of those faces though."

William snorted, "That makes people desperate?" He knew what she meant really, but he needed to laugh, even if it was at one of his own terrible jokes.

"Very funny." She elbowed him good-naturedly. "Come on, we've got stuff to do."

Felicity swung her bag over her shoulder, and waited by the door expectantly.

"Uh…" William wasn't sure how to word it; he went with short and simple, "I'm wearing pyjama pants."

Felicity's eyes wandered downward. She flinched, turning her head away, "Ah yes…, I'm going to wait outside." She opened the door, keeping her eyes averted with all her might.

William walked into the bathroom; glancing in the mirror he decided a shower might be a good idea. He was out in five minutes, drying his hair roughly with a hand towel. He threw on his maroon shirt and dark trousers. Spotting the file laid on chest of draws to his right. He swore it was in a slightly different position to yesterday.

He was drawn toward the papers. Going straight to the back of the file this time, he pulled out a photo. It had the date 06.14.11 and 'Riverton PD' stamped on the back in red. William drew in a shaky breath, chin trembling, he flipped the photo over. He could see the house burning, hearing himself screaming, choking, the world had all seemed so distant, like for a while the world wasn't real, and smoke and flames and death was all there was. The fumes rose into the dark night, the bright hungry flames reaching high, swallowing his home. Rob Stacy screaming and yelling for them to save his wife, then the man went silent, seeing her, kneeling by her body, he'd looked up a William. The way Mr Stacy had looked at him, scared and disgusted, as if William were a monster, a freak. William squeezed his eyes shut, tears dripping off his chin; he scrunched the photo up in his palm.

Felicity knocked on the door, "Hurry up Slowcoach!"

"Be there in a sec." William called, pressing on his eyeballs through his lids with his thumb and index finger, his eyelids scrunched together. Needing to feel the pressure, willing the tears to cease.

Opening his bloodshot eyes he looked down at the papers once more, he saw his name, written in cursive on cream paper. He grazed his fingers over the envelope and gripped it gently, feeling the thinness of the paper under the pad of his thumb. William turned the envelope over and dug his finger under the seal, drawing out the letter within. He bit his lip, sitting down on the bed.

"_My William. One day, you'll ask me to speak of a truth - of the miracle of your birth. To explain what is unexplained. And if I falter or fail on this day, know there is an answer, my child, a sacred imperishable truth, but one you may never hope to find alone. Chance meeting your perfect other, your perfect opposite - your protector and endangerer. Chance embarking with this other on the greatest of journeys - a search for truths fugitive and imponderable. If one day this chance may befall you, my son, do not fail or falter to seize it. The truths are out there. And if one day you should behold a miracle, as I have in you, you will learn the truth is not found in science, or on some unseen plane, but by looking into your own heart. And in that moment you will be blessed - and stricken. For the truest truths are what hold us together, or keep us painfully, desperately apart. With all my love, your mother."_

William didn't think he'd ever read such wonderful words. Eloquent and beautiful, everything he'd ever hoped. His mother had called him a miracle, a gift from God; unexplainable and wonderful, people don't just give up miracles light-heartedly. The way his mother wrote. Her words heavy with experience, devotion and sincerity. What extraordinary things had Dana Scully seen? William had never been sure if he'd ever been loved; now he knew. He began to hope if just maybe the 'perfect other' she spoke of was his father, that he'd not been a mistake like so many other adoptees, formed in a moment of infatuation. Perhaps, he'd been created by those two perfect opposites. Perhaps he was something more than he'd thought before.

The anxiety over whether his parents would want to see him was gone. "The truth…" He needed it more than anything now. A journey… he was kind of already on one. William had a few years before he needed to start thinking about the whole partner, perfect other, part of it all. He could do this on his own for now.

"If you get your ass out here now I'll buy you lunch." Felicity called, bringing him back to a reality that already seemed a little brighter.

He beamed involuntarily. Then again maybe he didn't have to do it alone after all.

"Okay," William chuckled, pulling on his sneakers. He stuffed his file into his backpack, and hooked the straps over his shoulders. Giving the room a sweeping glance to check they hadn't left anything before striding out the door.

* * *

They were walking down yet another identical block when Felicity asked him the big question, "So what's your story?" His ears strained to hear her over the buzz of the city.

He went with his usual response, "Oh, it's borin-"

"William, come on! I look in your eyes and I know that's a lie. If I'm going to be here, I don't want to be wandering around blind." Felicity shrugged. "And if you don't want me here then just say, I promise you won't hurt my feelings."

"No!" William exclaimed, "I want you around. I don't ever want you feel like I rather you weren't helping me. I've always rather liked being alone a lot, sure, but that's different to being lonely. I've never been great at this. I'm talking friendships… relationships of any kind. I mean, my best friend, Micah, is a great guy, but he's done two stints in Juvie and set fire to sophomore last month; I'm obviously not a golden influence, though that sophomore really deserved it. I don't where I'm going with this…" William kicked at the asphalt as he walked.

"I think I do. You like having someone around, you just don't want to have to spend every second glued to their side, and you're afraid you're a bad influence so you push people away."

William paused, then nodded.

"William, have you ever stopped to think maybe you're not a bad influence at all, maybe you're just drawn to damaged and unstable people?" Felicity said evenly.

He thought back. Micah, of course he was damaged, all those rejections had given him a pretty dull view of life, especially when that view was from a hospital bed. Noah, of course was wonderful, but the kid barely slept, and had nightmares whenever he did. Noah was by definition unstable. His best friend from Elementary school, Sid, had been obsessed with the macabre, always drawing skulls and bloody weapons. He'd been sent to a therapist after he killed his hamster. "Oh God…" William muttered.

Felicity continued cautiously, "Maybe the reason you befriend those types of people is because you're afraid you're a bad influence, so you choose people who're already messed up."

Rob and Lillian Stacy were normal, and look what he did to them.

"I've spent my life in therapy, but I think you've got me better than a therapist ever has." He said. "But you're a balanced person… right?"

"You were telling me about you, remember?" Felicity raised a brow expectantly, elegantly avoiding the question.

"I told you the basics!"

"No, William." Felicity and he dodged a few pedestrians. "You told me where you'd lived. There's a difference."

"Okay, fine. I was put up for adoption when I was 10 months or so old. They died so that didn't last very long. I was put up for adoption again, but no such luck. I moved around a lot. Then when I was ten, my foster home was burnt down, and my foster mother died. Smoke inhalation, there was nothing they could do." William bit his lip. "So, I was sent to St Pauls, where they could keep their beady eyes on me."

"They?" Felicity asked.

"The government. I don't know why, put I've been having government ordered medical screenings for as long as I can remember."

"And you have no idea why?"

"Well, I have an idea; I just don't know if they know what I know."

"Okay…" Felicity trailed off. "Are you going to tell me what you know?"

"No," William put a hand on her shoulder apologetically, "Sorry, maybe another time." They walked in silence for a few seconds.

"But they're interested in your DNA?" Felicity looked up at him, her face hesitant and sheepish. Implying a hint of guilt.

"Ah hah! So you did read the file?" William accused Felicity, the corner of his mouth upturned.

Felicity held up her hands apologetically, "Just a little tiny wincey bit, yes. However, you did just leave a file with 'property of the US federal government' stamped across it in the middle of the motel room. I hack into their server for fun. How was I supposed to resist?"

"I just had an amazing idea!" William cried, grabbing her shoulders. "If I get you a computer can you get me in their Server? I want you to try and find out what they've got on me."

Felicity thought deeply for a second, breathing out through her nose. "I brought my laptop." She grinned, "All I need is a strong Wi fi connection."

"You serious?"

"No, I'm kidding." She said her tone heavy with sarcasm. "Of course, we promised we'd help each other, right? Now let's go find your mom." Felicity gestured to her right.

William turned to see the Hospital parking lot stretched out in front of him, just across the road. His stomach jumped into his throat.

Felicity jogged across the empty road and beckoned to him enthusiastically.

William steadied himself and began to make his way across the road, looking up at the hospital towering above him across the tarmac. He saw a woman in a window several floors up. She was distant, but he could see she had beautiful long red hair and a bitter sweet look about her face that strung a cord somewhere deep inside himself. He knew the chances of it being her were tiny, but that didn't stop him freezing, right where he was, two thirds of his way across the road. He heard Felicity scream his name, and then a hand came out of nowhere and yanked on his backpack, pulling him onto the curb, out of harm's way. A car squealed to a halt right where he had been stood.

"Lunatic!" The man who was still holding to him tight yelled passionately at the driver of the vehicle, "Watch where you're driving!"

William's breathing was laboured, he felt sick, and he was sweating.

"You okay kid?" His rescuer asked, letting go of the bag and staring intensely down at William. He had soft features and dark hair. His eyes were dark and young, a glint dancing in them, but the lines around them betrayed his true age. William guessed he must be around 50 or so, but he looked younger than that somehow. There was something familiar about his face, in the curve of his jaw, his smile, and the shape of his brow. William's mouth opened and closed.

"Oh my god," Felicity collapsed onto her knees at his side, placing a hand on his cheek and searching his eyes. "Oh my god! Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

William smiled for her sake. "Felicity, I'm fine." He reassured her.

Felicity looked up at the man who'd saved William. "Thank you."

The man put a hand on William's shoulder, "Watch where you're walking next time kid."

"Sorry. Thanks. Not used to the busy roads." William thought back to the empty tracks of Denville.

"You two from out of town?" The guy concluded.

"Denville, New Jersey." William answered nodding, he stood up. Felicity let him used her as prop, his legs still a little shaky. "Felicity's from Philadelphia though."

"Well, Denville, you have to watch these streets, idiots come racing round these corners all the time." The man explained half-heartedly, it was apparent he wanted to be elsewhere.

"Well thanks again." Felicity said sincerely, she observed William's pale face, "Are you sure you're okay, we can get you looked at real quick?"

William squeezed her arm, "I'm fine. I just need to distract myself from the fact I nearly died."

The man sighed, holding out his hand, "I have to get going. It was nice to meet you. Stay safe, okay?" The corner of his mouth curled up.

"You too." William gripped his hand, it was firm and warm. He realised he didn't know the guy's name. "Thanks, uh…?"

"Fox Mulder."

"Fox?" William and Felicity raised their eyebrows in unison.

"I know, what was my mother thinking? See you. " The man said, walking away in the direction of the hospital, he turned one last time to yell, "Don't go standing in any more roads. I won't always be there, Denville."

"Well, he was nice." Felicity decided after a few seconds.

"Yeah, let's get going." William said, sliding his hand down her arm and into her grasp in order to lead her through the parking lot.

Upon entering they decided it made the most sense to head straight up to neurology. Quickly finding the elevator, William's heart was pounding as they were lifted up to the seventh floor. Stepping out to the clean white walls and strong disinfectant smell of the hospital floor, William had come so far, this was it.

They approached the desk. The receptionist looked up, disinterested and tired looking she drawled, "Can I help you?" As if she really wished they'd say no. She was young, with dark bags under her eyes and dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Felicity took over when William failed to speak, "We're looking for Doctor Scully?"

"She's on her break, and then she's leaving after lunch. You'll have to make an appointment and come back in few weeks."

"What? No!" William burst out.

Felicity put a hand on his arm, her eyes concentrated on the receptionist, "This is very urgent and very personal. Can you go get her?"

"I've been instructed not to disturb Doctor's when they're on break except when there's an emergency." The woman's gaze narrowed, silently telling the two teenagers to leave.

"This is an emergency!" William declared.

The receptionist gave him a glare.

"Please." William begged.

"I'm sorry, Sir, please leave." The woman said with her jaw tight.

Felicity pulled him aside as if they were making to leave, William protested, pulling away. Felicity tugged him close and lifted her lips up to his ear, "Run."

It took a second for William's body to respond, turning on his heel and skidding and sliding with a squeak down the pale corridor.

"Stop!" The receptionist bellowed after him.

William searched the plaques on the doors, finding the one engraved with the words 'Doctor's lounge' He burst through, much to the surprise of the five doctors inside, the door slamming closed behind him.

The room consisted of a number of arm chairs, a book shelf, a table and chairs, and a coffee machine.

"Hey?" A bewildered voice came from the far end of the room. William's eyes flickered across the room, noting the doctor making coffee, and the other three sat in armchairs arranged in a circle around a coffee table, all of who looked shocked, to fall on the couple stood several metres away.

William's blue eyes widened, it was the man who'd saved him, standing opposite the doctor from the window. Seeing them standing side by side was all it took for William to know. Her red hair, his smile, her eyes, his jaw line, her posture, his ears, it made it so glaringly obvious.

Dr Scully stared at him, recognition in her eyes as if she knew it too, as Mulder spoke again, "This is the kid I was telling you about. Denville, what are doing in here?"

"Actually," William cleared his throat, "My name's William Scully."

Everything seemed to go into slow motion as Dana Scully muttered, "Oh my god." Mulder's smile halted; suddenly his whole body was very tense.

William was terrified of what was going to happen next, he was terrified of rejection. After everything, he wasn't sure he could handle it.

Dana Scully rushed toward William, tucking him into her arms, hot tears falling on his shoulder. Her hand held the back of his head like he was to her still the baby she had given up over fifteen years ago, "My William, my son," she whispered, the room was so silent you could of heard a pin drop.

"Hey, Mom." William held her too, wrapping his arms around her back, his own tears beginning to fall.

Scully drew away slightly, looking over to the stationary Mulder, "Our son, Mulder."

Mulder jolted awake at those words. Scully moved out of William arms just in time for Mulder to walk into them, gripping William tightly to him. "I feel like an idiot for not seeing it before." He muttered, pulling away, "In my defence you were only…" Mulder positioned his hands to indicate the size of William as a small baby, "…you know, a newborn, when I had to leave."

So, William frowned, his father hadn't been there when he was adopted then, he wondered why.

Just then hospital security made their entrance. Two middle-age men dressed in grey uniforms, one of them holding tightly onto the arm of a very flushed and resentful Felicity.

"Hey! Let her go." William cried, eyeing the guard who was holding her.

"Let her go, Gerry, this is a family matter." Dana Scully said evenly. 'Family' William blinked.

The guard released Felicity, who made her way to William's side.

"You okay, Felicity?" He said his voice unsteady.

"I'll be fine." Felicity growled, holding her arm where it had been gripped. "You?"

William looked to his right, where his parents stood, his eyes shining. "I'm going to be fine."

**Bad? Good? Wow it's way longer than my usual chapters. I seem to be writing super long chapters for this fic. I love it when you guys tell me where you want this to go or what you think is going to happen. Cause it sorta feels like I could leave it right here, but I'm not going to do that because that's mean and I like this story to much.**

**I have a big twist planned as well so… follow!**

**Sorry for anything noticeably un-american, I try very hard but I'm English... so...**


	4. Chapter 4: The Red Door

"Upstairs on the right; the red door." Dana Scully told him as he followed her and Fox Mulder into their home. The door swung closed behind Felicity with a shallow creak. William looked back to her, meeting her eyes. Felicity gave him a small nod and a tiny encouraging twitch of the lips.

Meeting his parents keen and heavy gazes once more he made his way toward the staircase, tentatively at first, not sure what to expect from the room with the red door. The wood protested slightly under his weight. He gripped the banister as he ascended, speeding up in anticipation as he reached the top. Nobody followed him. He saw the door. Placing a hand on the door handle, he paused for a split second before entering, a breath catching in his throat slightly.

The walls were painted yellow, the bed covers on the double were light blue and white chevron, and a wooden chest with painted planes on it sat in the corner next to a clothes closet under a large window with wooden blinds. The room was relatively bare, with none of the little souvenirs that came from being lived in; no dents in the surfaces, school trophies, books with bent spines, or framed photos. Wait, William's brow furrowed, spotting a picture pinned to a cork board set above the bed, otherwise decorated with newspaper cuttings.

Unpinning it to gain a closer look, William sat down on the bed, shrugging off his backpack and observing the scene depicted in the photograph. A younger Dana Scully sat on a blue sofa, her hair shorter and a deeper red, she was looking proudly down at a chubby baby in a striped yellow t-shirt and blue dungarees. The child had fine red hair and piercing but playful blue eyes. William knew it was him. This was his room.

"You okay?"

William looked up sharply to regard Dana Scully standing pensive in his doorway with her arms crossed apprehensively, not quite in the room, but not quite out of it either. Her eyes were a wide and open blue, a sight that seemed familiar. Maybe he was remembering somehow? Or maybe it was because it was what he saw every time he looked in the mirror.

"I will be," He stated, "everything's just kind of…"

"Over-whelming." Dana finished.

"Yeah."

"I know."

There was a moment of heavy silence.

"So, you kept my room." William smiled at her, nervous but warm, inviting her to stay and talk… if she wanted.

"Actually, we moved here after you were… given up." Dana admitted, moving his bag gently so she could sit beside him on the bed.

William stayed silent. So this hadn't ever been his room. Why had the added a room for a child they'd given up for adoption? Logically, it made no sense. Legally, they weren't his parents. Legally, his parents were dead. Legally, Dana and Fox couldn't ever have custody of him, but the government couldn't control him now, he was old enough to apply for emancipation from the state system, which shouldn't be too hard. He had savings, and support, and they didn't really have the resources to keep kids on after 16 anyway. The only reason Micah was still in the system was because he was medically unfit to get a job and he needed a full high school education if he wasn't going to end up homeless, which was a dire possibility despite his brains.

William had so many questions, but he just nodded instead, keeping his eyes on the ground.

"I still can't quite believe you're sitting here." Scully began when he didn't, "We always hoped you'd come find us some day, though we never spoke about it much. Mulder missed so much. He didn't get to say goodbye like I did." Dana said, cautiously but sincerely.

"I thought about you both a lot," William admitted, wringing his hands slowly, "I mean, what kid wouldn't in my situation? I'm betting every other kid at the orphanage had the same thoughts. I mean, lots of us still had living parents; it's just called an orphanage out of tradition, so, of course, we all wondered what our parents were like."

"Orphanage?" Dana sounded shocked, "What orphanage?"

"The…" William searched her confused blue eyes for any understanding, and found nothing. "The… St Pauls Orphanage, in Denville, where I ended up… after my adoptive parents died." He realised, they hadn't known about any of this. Last they knew he'd been safely placed with the Van De Kamp's. They'd thought he'd had a family.

"You've been in the government care system? How long?" Dana was still ridged from the news.

"Since I was one." William felt bad giving her more bad news, but she deserved the truth. More heavy silence followed.

Dana Scully placed hand on his cheek tenderly, and then drew back, as if she were terrified of making a wrong move. "I'm so sorry, William."

"No, it's…" William began.

"No, you deserved better than that. You should have had better. I thought you had better." Dana stumbled forcefully through the words.

"I do have a family, though, you know. Or, at least people I care about." William bit his lip to supress a grin.

Dana Scully met his eyes again, coaxing him to continue, silently.

"This kid at the orphanage, Noah, he sort of imprinted on me, I guess. He's like a little brother to me. And there's my best friend, Micah, plus Felicity of course." William let his grin rein free. "So, it wasn't nearly all bad. And, I guess I have you and… Fox now."

"You always had us, William, even if you didn't know it." Dana put an arm around him and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly, then smiled knowingly, "Maybe don't call Mulder, Fox, though."

William rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully, "Then what do I call him?"

"I don't know. You'll figure it out." Scully made as if to leave.

"Uh," William said, to stall her, "I…" He blew out his cheeks to try and ready himself, as he often did, "Why?" He almost choked on the question.

Scully's face fell, knowing exactly what he meant.

"You and he are still together after all this time. You had a good job. So did he. You were both old enough. I don't understand. I just came here because I need to understand. I need to know why you didn't want me? Even if it hurts. I'm looking for the truth. I need to find the truth. All of it." William's fists were clenched.

Scully's eyes flashed with painful recognition, seeing the pure Mulder in her son if only for a second, and guilt at those words. "Oh, no, William." There was something desperate and truthful in his mother's eyes, "I wanted you so badly. You were my last chance to have a child. I'd wanted to be a mother for so long, but it couldn't be. Then, you came to be and I didn't understand, you were a miracle, and a gift. I loved you more than anything. Giving you away was the most difficult decision I ever made, but I knew it was the right one. I had to keep you safe. Keeping you away from me, it was the best way to keep you safe." Her hands were placed gently on his shoulders, willing him to look her in the eyes.

Which he did. "But you unknowingly handed me right into their arms." William took her hand from his shoulder and held it, his voice a little wobbly; hoping that with the gesture she would understand that he didn't blame her for it.

"How do…" She began.

"The truest truths are what hold us together, or keep us painfully, desperately apart." William quoted his mother's letter, "You told me that. What truth tore me away from you? …What's wrong with me? Why do they watch?" He couldn't hold back the emotions that were bubbling now; he squared his jaw and blinked to rid himself of the tears welling in his eyes. He sucked in a sharp breath to aid his control.

"William there's nothing wrong with-" Dana shook her head, her eyes and tone heavy.

"Don't lie to me!" William began to yell, standing up, the ground beneath his feet started to tremor, the whole house shaking a little in the heated silence that trailed his words. His aggression died at the complicated wistful expression of pain and panic on Dana's face. "I'm sorry." William sat back down tentatively.

"I'm sorry too. I thought this was over, that'd we'd cured you, and you'd have a real chance at a normal life." She said, "You want to know why you're different? You were born powerful, and the cure you took was supposed to last forever, but I guess…" Her fingers brushed over the photo over her holding him as a baby where it lay on the bed spread. "What can you do?" Dana asked outright.

William searched her eyes, he trusted her. "I can move stuff, and sometimes I hear thoughts. I'm usually strong, and fast. My metabolism is off the charts. I heal very quickly. I never get ill! My memory is unbelievable, somewhat photographic. My grades had me accused of cheating 17 different times in the past three years."

"More human than human." Scully muttered her eyes both fixed on him and far away at the same time.

"Huh?"

She moistened her lips, "I was told you were something special, that you were something the world had never seen before. You had qualities that made you desirable to governments and agencies all over the world. So when I thought you had been cleared of those qualities, I made the choice to have you sent away where no one could use you or try to unlock those abilities again."

"But why? Why am I like this in the first place?" William jaw quivered. He'd never expected this. He'd always know there was something very wrong, but this? Whole governments?

"I've never been completely certain what cause the mutation. Outside interference? Exposure?" Scully frowned, her mind focusing.

William realised something, "I have something to show you."

Dana watched as William tugged his bag into his lap and yanked the zipper open, pulling a brown, slightly dog-eared, official government file out ruthlessly.

He flipped open the file to the page he looked at back at the orphanage with Micah and Noah, placing his index finger on that last paragraph. "Read this."

'_14% abnormal DNA detected. Origin: Known. Subordinate abnormal DNA suggests post-insemination inter-uterine osmosis and known mutated ova, as opposed to insemination pertaining to abnormal DNA. Child valid: DNA acquired. Distant contact surveillance required, time period: Indefinite._'

Dana Scully sighed knowingly as she read, "It was me."

"You're the 'abnormal DNA'?" William asked.

"No, it wasn't my DNA, but don't you see. It says that any abnormality came from me, the mutated egg, and any exposure afterward. Abnormal DNA must have been substituted in before I even got pregnant. The father's DNA, Mulder's DNA, was completely human DNA.

"Human DNA," William repeated. "As opposed to what other sort of DNA exactly?"

"…Alien." Dana stated, completely seriously.

He chuckled, expecting her to laugh too, then William saw the conviction in the strength of her jaw, "You're saying I'm 14% alien." She had to be joking.

"Yes, William." She said, her voice still unwavering.

"No way." This was all getting a bit too far-fetched. "I mean even if there is intelligent life out there somewhere, they'd have to be advanced enough to create space travel…. Aliens." William huffed. Not possible.

"It would explain your abilities." Dana said a challenge in the set line of her mouth.

"Yeah, but… you said I was 'more human than human'?" William defended.

"The DNA given to you wouldn't have changed your biology, just enhanced it. While your DNA is part alien, your anatomy is pure human. You can move object with your mind, William, how far-fetched is the idea of Alien life really?" Dana argued.

William ran his fingers through his hair. This was insane, and yet he didn't think that Dana Scully was.

"What I'm more worried about at this point is why there is a whole file of reports here, and why they recommended you for surveillance." Scully said, flicking through the file, jogging William out of his daze.

"They've been taking blood tests since as long ago as I can remember, and my memory is impeccable. I've known something wasn't right since I was 6." William leant over his mother a little, trying to get a better view of the file.

Scully froze. Then suddenly she pushed herself off the mattress and strode out the door without a word. William heard her tearing down the stairs before he reacted. Deciding he should probably follow, he jumped off the bed and trotted a little more carefully down the stairs than Scully.

"Mulder!" He heard her call out insistently.

William followed her voice into the kitchen where Mulder was making coffee or something, and Felicity and her laptop had made themselves at home at the kitchen table. There was a TV set on the counter chattering away.

"What's going on?" William charged after her, understandably alarmed.

"Mulder, take a look at this." Scully slapped the file down on the table and pointed roughly to a section of small font.

Fox Mulder leant over the report and squinted, his eyes growing increasingly intense as he read further.

Felicity's eyes were flicking between everyone else, questioning and lost.

"Do you remember?" Scully asked quietly, as Mulder continued to examine the paper in front of him.

"Yes, of course. Project FX90-7. That's the code name for Project Facsimile. Doctor Heage's experimental genetics program."

William was all ears at this point.

Scully's gaze deepened as Mulder's met it, implying something obscure.

"They wouldn't have. Would they?" She said in a hushed and frightened tone.

"I wouldn't put it past them, Scully, and it's in his file, isn't it." Mulder said.

"The project was shut down before he was born, Mulder." Scully refused to believe any of it.

"Only on paper, Scully. The government lies, we both know that well enough."

William took a step forward to get his parent's attention, "Hold on a sec, what's project Facsimile?"

The two ex-FBI agents shared a look.

"Project Facsimile was a cloning project set up in 1997 to investigate the possibility of complete human cloning. It was _supposedly _discontinued in 2000 when the department of health and human services branded it unethical." Dana Scully told him through gritted teeth.

"You don't think they actually shut it down?" William pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling the file his way so he could check it out.

"There's never any evidence of it. The funding was never re-channelled. The workforce was never reassigned. Officially everything and everyone to do with it just disappeared from record." Mulder moistened his lips. "I always wanted to look into it but I put it off and Langley, the hacker who got us the information, died in 2002."

"I can get you back into the FBI database." Felicity looked up from her screen hesitantly, seemingly a little intimidated.

"Yeah?" Mulder voiced hesitantly, regarding Felicity analytically.

She nodded, "Yeah, I've done it before." Felicity's eyes flickered dark, meeting William's briefly. He knew she was thinking about her brother. She cleared her throat, "I'm pretty awesome at forging documents too, if you're ever interested."

Mulder nodded approvingly at her, smiling.

Scully looked between her son and the girl, "How do you two know each other?" She sat down in the chair next to William.

"We met on the train yesterday. She sat next to me on the route from Philly." William chewed his lip. Yesterday felt like a lifetime ago.

"You've know each other less than a day?" Mulder exclaimed in disbelief, bringing a pot of coffee and some mugs over to the table, and settling himself into the last remaining chair.

The kitchen wasn't huge, but light and functional. It was apparent neither Mulder nor Scully were big on baking. The table was small and pushed up against a window but there was still enough room for four.

"Yep."

"Uh huh." Felicity shrugged.

"I wouldn't have guessed it." Scully said.

"We've been through more than most strangers though." William accepted the cup of coffee Mulder offered him.

"Hey, William." Felicity muttered, staring past him in the direction of the TV.

"Yeah?"

"Look." She nodded for him to look behind himself.

William turned to stare, seeing William Van De Kamp staring back at him. It was a photo from the beginning of the school year, but it was definitely him. The caption read 'Missing Child: Possible Amber Alert.'.

"Son of a…" William began.

"National news?" Scully breathed. "They hardly ever put teens on the news, especially not on national."

"Micah would have told them I left of my own accord. They know I wasn't abducted." William uttered as his face disappeared from the screen. "Why do they want to find me so badly?" He felt panicked. What was he?

"They need you for something." Mulder stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"The cloning project." William closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, he had to keep control. He was panicking. He hadn't wanted this. He'd just wanted a home and a family, and what did he get? To be the subject of a nationwide manhunt that was likely to end with him being prodded and poked by doctors for the rest of his life.

"They're trying to clone him! Why? You can't clone humans can you? It's not allowed." Felicity exclaimed. She looked genuinely distressed and anxious.

"William?" Mulder muttered empathetically, peering at his son where he sat ridged and anxious on his seat.

Scully placed a reassuring hand on Williams's arm where it rested on the table top. His eyes were still squeezed shut in defiance.

"William, tell Mulder what you told me." Dana squeezed his arm.

His eyes shot open. "I think I'm going to be showing you instead." William grunted.

The room began to rattle and shake as William edged opened the flood gates the tiniest possible bit. The air was charged with energy and William closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel it as it coursed through his body and sparked off.

"William." Mulder warned.

Any object not fixed to the ground slowly lifted off the floor a tad, including the chairs, as the light bulbs blew, one by one by one. He let out a snarl and the gas cooker lit itself to full blast. Voices tumbled and stumbled through his addled subconscious; things people had said to him, things people hadn't.

Felicity's hand flew to her mouth to muffle a yelp of fear, but that supressed sound was enough to pull William out of himself a little. It was enough for him to realise he was scaring her. He shut his eyes tight and pulled the floodgate back into place with a pained cry, denting the table with his fingernails as he gripped it.

He had just enough time to note Mulder and Scully's identical troubled expressions, and Felicity's shaking form, before he shamefully hid his face in his hands, hiding any tears that promised to fall.

He felt warm, nimble, slender fingers wind themselves into his thick, deep copper hair. "Shhh, it's okay, William, Sweetheart. Everything's fine. You're okay. You're going to be okay. Nobody's hurt." Dana Scully stroked the back of his head tenderly as she murmured, "I'm here, it's okay." William felt like a six year old whose mother was fussing over them after a tumble, and it was wonderful.


	5. Chapter 5: The Newspaper Scrap

"Any luck?" William said; the sound muffled by the large bite of the grilled cheese sandwich Mulder had handed him. He dropped down on the couch to sit beside Felicity and her computer.

"Yeah…" Felicity said, concentrating. William waited for her to elaborate but she didn't.

"And?" He finished the sandwich and licked off his fingers.

Her face switched from an expression of level focus to lean more toward frustration, "There's a file. Okay? It's connected to yours. I had to go looking for it since it's not really obvious to see, but it's in the coding. So I know it's there. You get it?"

"Yes, okay," William nodded, "So what's the problem?"

"It's crazily well protected. Majorly encrypted, completely bulletproof software, with no back door at all; I swear Robert Morris couldn't hack this stuff! And I'm a pretty seasoned cracker myself, so…"

William raised a brow, lost.

"Robert Morris? He's a…" She began, then shook her head, her hair was tied back in a braid to keep it out her eyes, "it doesn't matter right now, what matters is there's a file I can't hack and it's really irritating me." She caught William's eye, "And of course the fact there's a big government secret connected to you they're keeping from you…. which is wrong. Obviously."

William couldn't stop himself from smiling at her antics, he tried to concentrate on the task at hand once more, "So, there's no way you can get in?"

"I don't want to push too hard, William. They probably have an iron box on this thing! That means one wrong move and they can trap me and track me. I've run an expert root kit I developed myself, very specific to this sort of hardware, but the government employs the best of the best. Right now I'm just cautiously munching round the edges of this thing, but… If they get a whiff of my scent on this…" She gulped, then muttered, "If I get arrested my dad'll kill me. A Police commissioner with a daughter on the inside, that'll look great."

William's nose was scrunched up as he tried to make sense of all the hacker slang being thrown his way, "So, what your saying is you can't get in?"

"Well… there is one way I could." Felicity chewed her lip. "I have a plan, but you might not like it."

"You may as well spill it now." William shrugged.

"The main problem is the foreign server being detected. So… If I could just…."

"No!" William objected loudly, putting his hands up in protestation.

Felicity shushed him harshly, glancing around, but Mulder and Scully were upstairs, "Do you want to find out what's in this file or not?"

"I'm a fugitive of the American federal government and you want me to walk into their legal headquarters?" William hissed under his breath, "I may as well go running stark naked through Times Square with 'federal fugitive' tattooed on my butt cheeks!"

"Well, obviously you're going to wear a disguise, and really, we have no other choice." Felicity stared him down.

"Why do you even want to do this? Don't you want to try and find your brother?" William gazed incredulously at Felicity.

"I will. But I'm in no hurry to get home and this sounds like fun." She grinned infectiously, and William's gaze softened. She'd been more unselfish than anyone he'd ever met. She was willing to help him do something that could get her stuck behind bars without as much as a thank you. He had a feeling it was more for the thrill than for him but still.

"So… this plan of yours?" William inquired.

* * *

It was getting dark early for a summer's night. William zipped and unzipped his backpack as he deliberated whether or not he should unpack. He hadn't really thought this whole plan through that well, despite his intelligence. Then again when he'd come up with the idea to run off and find his parents he hadn't thought that it'd make him the subject of a nationwide manhunt. The TV news alert had rocked him harder than he'd let on. Suddenly he was something he'd never believed himself to be before; he was important, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

His parents hadn't really expressed vocally that they wanted him to stay, but giving him a room that practically had his name on it was a pretty big hint. However, at the moment, it all seemed so futile to William. The people who were looking for him, the government's people, were bound to figure out soon enough, if they hadn't already, where he'd run off to. They could come bursting through the front door at any point, and his parents had to know that. By this point he knew they'd been fugitives at one time too. He didn't want to put himself or them through having him taken away again.

William sat cross legged on his bed as he zipped up the pack once again, breathing out through his nose heavily.

Scully chose that moment to check in on him, "We're going to turn in now. Are you going to stay up for a bit?" She eyed his attire; he was still dressed in the shirt and trousers he'd worn all day, still slightly muddied from when Mulder had dragged him out the path of that car.

"Yeah. I guess my mind's just pretty busy right now." William ran a hand through his hair.

"That's normal, William." Scully stood in the doorway, arms crossed loosely with her long red hair tucked behind her ear on one side.

William really looked at her this time, he took away all the emotional stuff and just looked at the way her mouth curved, and the slight dark circles under her eyes from late, stress-filled nights at the hospital. He saw the way her eyes matched his exactly in colour and almost nearly in shape. He noticed her complexion; the way the pale evenness of her skin matched his. The shape of her lips, and the way their colour was deeper than his, but apart from that they were undeniably, undisputedly the same. Her nose was very different to his though, despite bearing the exact same strength his nose held a place at a mid-point between his two parents. While he still saw Mulder in himself, in his height and jaw and maybe even his ears, there was no uncertainty that he much more resembled the woman stood in his doorway, who was no doubt thinking the exact same thoughts. Not just in appearance either, but in character and interests and the expressions he made. He was definitely Dana Scully's son.

She walked over to him and placed a delicate hand gently and motherly atop his red curls, "Night, William." He relaxed under her touch. The hand slipped down to stoke his cheek, "Sweet dreams." William looked up to meet his mother's gaze and held it warmly. When her hand fell away his cheek felt cold.

Scully moved away toward the open door, her hands clasped.

"Night, Mom." William said softly as she reached the door, liking the feel of the word as it rolled off the tip of his tongue. Scully seemed to waver there for a second, like a leaf fluttering in the wind, before moving out the door and round the corner. Though he only saw her face profile for a split second, he could see her lips turned up in a suppressed smile, her expression slightly overwhelmed, but happy. Very happy.

William faffed around for a while longer, pacing around the room anxiously, until he finally elected to take a shower. Rolling onto the sidewalk of a busy city road had made him a bit grimy, and he didn't know when he'd get another chance. He only gave his hair a quick towel dry afterward, throwing on a fresh shirt and pulling the slightly dusty trousers back over his legs. He zipped up the bag one last time. Quietly making his way downstairs, trying not to make the stairs creak too much in case either Scully or Mulder were still awake.

When he got downstairs he found Felicity sat on the couch, already washed, dressed and packed waiting for him, "Wondered when you'd show up. Didn't know if you would."

"I have to do this." William said with flat determination. "Felicity I have a… question. Or maybe more of a confession." He sat down next to her.

"Hm?" She tilted her head and peered at him.

"I didn't really think all of this through too well. But, now I'm here, and don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful that they want me, it's just, there's just this burning problem. I like them, in a strange way I think I might even love them, but there's a small part of me that hates them a little bit too. Is that really terrible, do you think?" William closed his eyes so they couldn't betray him and turned his face away. He felt a hand slip inside his where it lay in his lap.

"Welcome to what it feels like to have parents, Angel Face." Felicity quipped quietly.

William let out a short, genuine, choke of a laugh, and then pursed his lips cautiously. "It's just, look at this place." He gestured around himself with the hand Felicity wasn't holding. "Look outside. It's beautiful, and secluded, and… and… they were here, happy, and I was there. I was there… jumping from home to home, and then stuck in an orphanage full of damaged, slightly insane adolescent boys. It's hard to forgive that."

"But, they thought you had a fam-"

William interjected, "I know that, Felicity. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." He wiped at his eyes, embarrassed. "Lord, I swear I've cried more in the last 48 hours than most people do in a lifetime."

They languished in silence a minute.

"You have cold feet about leaving?" Felicity bit her lip, staring at her feet.

"Nope. They're nice and snug. You?" William whispered back.

"Toasty, and raring to go." She answered under her breath. "Are we moving out now?"

"One last thing." William's eyes flickered with guilt. Letting her hand drop he picked a pen and ripped a piece of paper off yesterday's New York Times, both of which were on the coffee table. William chewed his lip thoughtfully before scribbling a simple 'I'm sorry' onto the newspaper scrap. Felicity gave his shoulder a quick squeeze of encouragement.

Tiptoeing up the stairs, he took in a deep breath, and then pushed open the door to their bedroom slowly to discover his parents curled up fast asleep, even Mulder, who was snoring softly. William smiled sadly at the sight though it warmed him from the inside out to see them like that. His father was on his front, his legs lain out at a weird angle with one foot peeking out at the end of the bed. William's mother was on her front, her face pressed side on into her pillow, one arm and one leg draped across Mulder.

William padded over the a photo frame containing a picture of the two of them that sat on Mulder's nightstand, and tucked the apology neatly inside where it would be easily seen. He reached out and brushed his fingers affectionately across Mulder's forehead, pushing back a few strands of hair.

"Night, Dad." He murmured.

He leant over his father and placed a bittersweet kiss on his mother's brow, "Sweet dreams, Mom."

It took all of William's will power to walk out their front door. The click of the latch confirming he couldn't back out now.

"Can you even drive, Felicity?" William asked her accusedly as they climbed into Scully's blue ford.

Felicity feigned hurt as she answered with joking crass, "Of course, and I can also fly small planes, and most helicopters. My grandpa's an aircraft engineer; he owns a small airfield not far from a reservoir just outside Queens. I spent some summers there." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh Felicity, is there anything you can't do?" William said, with mock admiration.

"I'm not so great at cooking." Felicity offered, well aware the question had been rhetorical.

They slammed the doors and Felicity stuck the key in the ignition. Tossing her bag over her shoulder into the back seat.

"Can your feet reach the pedals, Ankle Biter?" William snarked.

Her eyes narrowed pointedly at him as she turned the key, bringing the vehicle to life, and stepping on it. "I'm not that short, Angel Face."

William turned his head to watch the house grow smaller and smaller in the side mirror, "They're going to kill me for running off when I get home, aren't they?" He sighed.

"That's what parents are for, and you haven't got anything on me, William. I didn't even leave a note." Felicity tried to joke but her smile faltered a little.

"Let's just find a way to get this all over with." William breathed, settling back in his seat and staring at the road ahead.

**Bet you weren't expecting him to run off too quick. Don't worry Mulder and Scully will be making a reappearance very soon.**


End file.
